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workmen are oppreffed by cruel masters, and tenants by their landlords. There are few to pity them, and fewer still to redrefs them. Let us lament fuch fcenes, and carefully avoid fuch a deteftable character; and appear as far as we can, the comforters of those that are oppreffed.

2. How malevolent and wretched is that spirit which leads men to envy those who profper more than themfelves! When honeft men take pains, deal honourably, and meet with fuccefs, their neighbours, especially their brother tradesmen, and fome who are in plentiful circumstances too, will envy them, mifreprefent them, injure them by false fuggeftions, vile infinuations and endeavours to leffen their reputation and undermine their interefts. This is a moft wicked difpofition, and yet very common. A man of true charity and chriftian love is glad to fee his neighbour thrive, and takes pleasure in his profperity.

3. We fee of what an infinuating, growing nature, the love of money is, which fhould make us careful to guard against it. One would scarcely believe, if one had not seen it, that there are perfons in plentiful circumstances, who have no near relations dependant upon them, yet are continually flaving; are not content with their own bufinefs, but keep pushing into that of any others where there is profit; who have no other pleasure but that of feeing their money, and thinking how much they are worth. They have no excuse for this avarice, and have no good from it. May we therefore beware of the love of money, which increaseth dreadfully in the heart which indulges it; and remember, that labouring inceffantly to hoard up wealth, is robbing the foul of good at prefent, and drowning it in future perdition.

4. The benefit and comfort of fociety fhould lead us to cultivate focial and kind affections. There are noble helps and comforts from it in almost every circumstance of life. Let us then labour to gain and keep friends; and in order to this fhow ourselves friendly. This temper fhould be carried with us into religion; there we shall find the benefit of pious friendship and religious affociations; and by Strengthening one another's hands in God, and provoking one another to love and to good works, we shall have great affiftI 2

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ance in the attack of fpiritual enemies; and the body of Chrift will be edified, while the members are knit together in love

5. We learn, that to be unwilling to be admonished, is one of the worst and most contemptible of characters. A wife child, an humble, teachable perfon, is much more worthy and honourable than a conceited obftinate old king, with all the dignity that his crown and age could give him. This is often the cafe of the rich and great; it is often the cafe of the aged; they think themselves above admonition, efpecially if those who give it are poorer or younger than themselves. Those who need admonition moft, bear it worst. But let us fhow that we are wife (at least not incorrigible fools) by receiving admonition calmly and thankfully, and fetting ourselves to correct our errors, and go on to perfection.

CHAP. V.

Solomon having defcribed the vanity of the world in many inStances, and hinted that religion was the only antidote against it, here proceeds to caution against thofe errors in religion into which men are ready to fall; and then returns to the vanity of power and wealth.

EEP thy foot when thou goeft to the house of

'K God; confider what thou art going about, and be

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have in the most reverent manner; do not run hastily and rafbly into the divine prefence; and be more ready to hear, to be inftructed in his will, and to obey it, than to give the facrifice of fools, fuch facrifices as wicked men frequently offer: for they confider not that they do evil; they do not confider that while they go on in wicked courses, or worship in an indecent manner, they are adding to their 2 guilt. Be not rafh with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hafty to utter [any] thing before God by way of prayer or vow: for God [is] in heaven, and thou

upon

b Here is an allufion to the eaftern custom of putting off the fhoe in token of reverence; as putting off the hat, and uncovering the head is among us.

upon earth, he is highly exalted above thee: therefore let 3 thy words be few, that is, well confidered. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice [is known] by multitude of words; as a multitude of business occafions confufed dreams, fo in multitudes of words men are led to fay vain and foolish things before they 4 are aware. When thou voweft a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for [he hath] no pleasure in fools; he is highly difpleafed with them: pay that which thou haft 5 vowed, for God is not to be jefted with. Better [is it] that thou fhouldft not vow, than that thou shouldft vow and not pay; the one being only a neglect, the other 6 a direct contempt of the divine majesty. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flefh to fin; do not entangle thyself with a needless vow, which the frailty of human nature may lead thee to break; neither fay thou before the angel, to the priest, when thou bringest a facrifice, or the angels that are prefent at divine worship, that it [was] an error: wherefore fhould God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? This is offenfive to 7 God, and tends to bring a curse on what thou doeft. For in the multitude of dreams and many words [there are] alfo [divers] vanities; many words uttered in a folemn manner without due confideration, as vows or prayers, are as vain as dreams: but fear thou God; reverence his prefence and majesty, and do not offend him by thy rafbnefs.

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If thou feeft the oppreffion of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and juftice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for [he that is] higher than the higheft regardeth; and [there be] higher than they; there is one higher than the oppreffors, who will punish them for it.

Moreover the profit of the earth is for all; another reafon against covetousness; the neceffaries of life are easily obtained; vegetable nature supplies the whole animal world, and all men, even the greateft, yea, the king [himself] is 10 ferved by the field. He that loveth filver fhall not be fatisfied

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• Abfolute vows against marriage, certain food, or recreations, are to be avoided; for by breaking the vow those things may become finful which in their own nature are indifferent.

fatisfied with filver; he will never think he has enough; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this [is] 11 alfo vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; there is a larger family and retinue, and therefore more expense; and others enjoy his wealth as much as he: and what good [is there] to the owners thereof, 12 faving the beholding [of them] with their eyes. The fleep of a labouring man [is] fweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not fuffer him to fleep; it brings cares which counterbalance the fatisfaction it affords, and which often prevent his re13 pofe. There is a fore evil [which] I have seen under the fun, [namely,] riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt; the rich are fametimes marked out as objects of oppreffion and ruin in arbitrary countries, and anxiety 14 often deftroys their health, their peace, and their fouls. But those riches perish by evil travail, by extravagance and imprudence: and he begetteth a fon, and [there is] nothing in his hand; he leaves his family impoverished, which is fo much the worse, as his fon was educated with the hope of a fortune, fo that he is reduced to peculiar calamity. 15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and fhall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand; if no other accident deprives him of his wealth, yet death will 16 ftrip him of all. And this alfo [is] a fore evil, [that] in all points as he came, fo fhall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? who hath taken abundance of pains for that which he can no more hold 17 than he can the wind? All his days alfo he eateth in darkness, either does not allow himself the conveniences of life, or is difturbed by irregular paffions, fo that he has no comfort in his enjoyments; and [he hath] much forrow and wrath with his fickness; fickness and confinement are peculiarly grievous to him, because they take him off from his favourite purfuits, and are likely to end in death, when he muft leave all his poffeffions behind him.

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Behold [that] which I have feen: [it is] good and comely [for one] to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the fun all

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the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it [is] his portion, all that falls to his fhare of the enjoyments and 19 poffeffions of life. Every man alfo to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this [is] the gift of God; it ought to be ac20 knowledged as a fingular fruit of his bounty. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God anfwereth [him] in the joy of his heart; he shall not think life tedious and long, nor be too much concerned at the evils that befall him, because God gives him inward tranquillity, the pleasures of religion, communion with himfelf, and the hope of a glorious immortality; thefe amply compenfate all his trouble and forrow.

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REFLECTION S.

E have need to be extremely cautious that our religious fervices be not vain and finful. There is much excellent advice on this head in the former part of the chapter, that should be seriously recollected every fabbath. We fhould enter upon divine worship with a folemn paufe, with great compofure of fpirit, and all external marks of reverence. Senfible of the infinite diftance between God and us, let us attend to the words we utter, and join heartily in those which are uttered in our name. Our prayers in general ought to be fhort, because (if they be long) it is next to impoffible to keep up a due attention and fervent affection. Let us alfo remember the caution here given about our vows. As chriftians, we ought to recollect and pay them. It were a fad thing that our worship fhould be vain; that we fhould be doing evil when we think we are doing good. To imagine that God will connive at our fins, because we pay him folemn worship, is a high affront and indignity. By fuch fervices men are contracting new guilt, instead of atoning for paft.

2. We fee of what admirable ufe the fear of God is. A fense of his prefence and providence, and a reverence for his majesty and authority, will prevent our being disturbed by our own or others' dreams; it will alfo prevent our

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